Promise of a life time
by SukiRin
Summary: "If death is what it takes to keep them safe, then I will gladly give up my life." This is Luffy's last wish. Luffy execution fic, no pairings.


**A/N: It's been a long time since I last wrong anything in english, I'm quite proud of myself for writing this long thing and completing it, although it took over 2 months to finish. I still have some grammar issues, so if you find any, ignore it please.**

**NOTE: Ace is alive and bouncy! He will not die under my hands!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own one piece or any of its characters, they belong to Oda!**

**Status: Complete**

* * *

Looking back to the last three days they were together, Luffy was extremely cheerful, almost too cheerful. But no one suspected a thing, they partied, they sang, they drank; they lived every minute like how they used to be. But now sitting in the Thousand Sunny, everyone realized something they never did before. That is, their captain had given them countless hints about what's about to happen, but no one paid attention. No one took him seriously enough to think more than the word "joke".

Luffy had once asked them one serious question, a question they did't want to answer at all. But looking at his serious face that barely appears except in battle, they had no choice but to answer.

He had asked them, "What will you do if one day I'm no longer with you? If one day I'm no longer your captain? If one day Monkey. D. Luffy cease to exist in this world? What will you do?"

Everyone looked at him like he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed and laughed. But Luffy did not laugh, instead he repeated his question. "What will you do when I'm no longer captain of the Straw Hats and no longer the Pirate King? Answer me."

The laughter stopped, the whole crew fell silent, and Luffy looked at them one by one, the way a father would look at his son. His eyes stopped on every single one of their faces, staring at them like this might be the last chance he will get to see them face to face again. He looked in a way so intense it burnt, like he wanted to burn their image into the very depth of his soul.

They felt uneasy, like something bad was going to happen, Usopp opened his mouth to speak, but Luffy stopped him. "Zoro, answer my question."

The named boy, or rather, man said with a sign. "You will always be with us, where ever you go, we follow, even if it's Hell. We will be together until the end of time. You are the one who brought us together, the person who allowed us to live and follow our dreams, so you can't escape from your duty as our captain. Never."

Luffy bite his lips hard and flashed them a sad smile, like he's not satisfied with the swordsman's answer. He shook his head slightly. "You are wrong Zoro, I won't be with you forever, I don't have the power of eternal life, one day I will die and leave you all behind, and that day may be soon. You will have to know what to do when I'm not around anymore… "

"Luffy, what's wrong with you? You are talking nuts." Nami smashed him in the head and asked with a frown.

Without fighting back, the Straw Hat boy straightened up and looked at his crew once again and said this. "Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Brooke, Frankie, promise me one thing. Even if I'm no longer around, you won't give up on your dreams; you will not lose hope, and you will keep on moving forward."

The eight named people nodded and said their promises, even if it's just to get their captain back to normal again. With their promise, Luffy signed and stretched his arms out. "Ah~~~, it's so hard to be serious, let's drop anchor and look for something to eat for dinner tonight in town."

The crew sweet dropped.

What was that? Did they hear something like 'that was all just a joke?'

With one simple wave of the hand, several arms grew out of Luffy's body and tried to strangle him, or rather tackle him. The target of the arms shouted and struggled while rolling on the ground laughing. "Gya! Robin! Stop that already!"

The others stared at the situation in front of them for a fraction of a second and decided to join him. But it looked more like a bunch of people from all directions trying to jump Luffy at the same time.

"Gya! Heavy! " Shouted the rubber boy.

"Zoro, your swords are hitting me!"

"..."

"I'm feeling SUPER!"

"Oh no, my antlers got caught!"

"Yohoho,this is so fun!"

"Be careful, or no dinner tonight."

"Th…this is dangerous."

"Hm...Navigator-san, we just passed our town."

"…"And after a long pause, the captain shouted, "GYA! Turn back turn back! And get OFF of me!" But the town is already out of sight.

* * *

The sky was clear, a sign for a perfect day. Luffy sat on the lion head of the Thousand Sunny, enjoying the morning breeze.

It was a normal morning; everyone was going about doing their usual things. Sanji in the kitchen preparing Lunch; Usopp and Franki were building new weapons; Nami was reading the morning paper; Robin was reading a book in the library; Zoro was sleeping; Chopper was making medicine and Brooke was quietly playing the violin. Everything was normal, except…

It was too quiet!

Upon realising the uneasy quietness, Usopp crept up behind Luffy to see what he was doing. But all he saw was him lying on the lion head, eyes wide open and his straw hat on his stomach. Not wanting to disturb this rare silence, Usopp quietly called him. "Luffy?"

The young man didn't answer, his blue eyes fixed on the sky above, it's like he didn't hear him at all. Usopp called again, this time louder, but there's still no reaction.

Usopp thought it was weird but not that weird, so he went back to his workshop. When Nami asked him what Luffy was doing on the lion head, Usopp just said that he was sleeping with his eyes wide open. Which they just ignored because if he can manage to eat whilst asleep, he can manage to sleep with his eyes wide open.

Then lunch approached, Sanji made a huge feast out of the shark they caught. Everyone ran to the kitchen, but Luffy was not there. They didn't even hear his calls for food. Usually when Sanji called them for lunch, he's the first one to arrive while shouting "MEAT!" But today he is not anywhere near the kitchen.

When Sanji went out to the deck to look for him, he was still there laying on the lion head staring at the sky.

"Oii! Luffy! It's time for lunch!" Sanji called from the deck, but he got no answer.

What the heck?

He said to himself, is he still sleeping?

"Oii! Luffy! Get UP!" Sanji kicked Luffy right on the head and finally got his attention.

"Waaahhhhh!" Luffy only had time to grab his hat before falling into the water below.

_Splash!_

What the heck?

Sanji groaned and jumped in after him. He was the one to make the captain fall into the water, so he has to save him.

"_Cough, cough_. Thanks a lot Sanji." Luffy laughed nervously under Sanji's angry stare and put on his hat. Sanji just stared at him like he's some sort of monster.

There's something wrong with this guy today, something's off, but what?

Sanji doesn't know, or rather he just can't put his finger on it and say 'this is it' for sure. There's just this uneasy feeling in his chest, like a stone holding him down. He has this urge to kick the boy unconscious.

After that incident at lunch, everything was back to normal again. With the occasional fights on the deck, and random shouts for food, the weird feeling in Sanji's chest was long forgotten.

That night Luffy suggested they should have a party. And the reason? Well he said it is to celebrate their four year anniversary with the Sunny.

Everyone agreed of course, whether the reason is good or not, you can't stop a pirate from partying. Even without a good reason, they like to party and will create a reason if they have to.

So that night, they drank until they can't walk anymore; even Zoro and Nami were down.

"Oii. Zoro, Nami! Wake up!" Luffy gently shook their shoulders one by one, and was brushed off by the red-haired girl.

"Sanji, Usopp, Oii!" He went on to check his other crewmates, but it looks like they were all out cold.

Luffy signed, he had trouble knocking them out. Zoro and Nami can hold their liquor really well and it wasn't easy to get them drunk, so he stole some of Chopper's sleeping pills and put them in their drinks.

Sanji and Robin are the next in line for trouble tonight, after that incident at lunch; Sanji had been keeping a careful eye on him all day. It was hard to distract him. And Robin never really drinks, so he had to add sleeping pills in her juice without Sanji noticing. The others were easy.

But despite all the trouble, he managed to get them drunk.

Today is the day, the day he had to leave everything behind. Everything he loved and everything he had ever held dear. He has to leave them all behind.

I just hope they won't hate me for it. Really, how sarcastic can it be that the captain is the easiest one to replace on a pirate ship?

It had been more than five years since they got together; they understood each other like the back of their own hand. Only together are they really complete, only together can they be called the Straw Hat.

Luffy knew that, he knew it since the beginning. But to protect his crew, he has to force himself to be removed from the whole. Even if it might cause the whole to be incomplete, he has to do it. No matter how hard and painful it is to leave, he has to do it. He has to do it for their sake.

Quietly walking out onto the deck, Luffy looked at the night sky one last time. The sky was clear, covered in bright little stars. They look like millions of tiny lamps lighting up the dark night. This will probably be the last time he can look up at the sky with freedom at his hands.

The flare in his hand felt like lead, so heavy it's even hard to keep it in place. He pulled on the ignition and watched the flare go up into the night sky and then…exploding.

It felt like centuries had past until the marine ship arrived, the person that came to pick him up is without a doubt his own grandpa. Garp wouldn't trust anyone to not treat his precious grandson nicely, and Luffy doesn't trust the marines to let them close to their ship without everyone on guard.

With one last look at the Thousand Sunny, Luffy forced himself to turn around and move towards Garp's ship, every step is like moving a mountain. With every breath he takes, his heart felt like it was been pieced by a thousand needles. His eyes tickled and tears clouded his vision, biting down on his lip he held the tears in.

He would not show any weakness or defeat on the decision he made. He would not cry.

"Luffy-san." Koby, who is now a marine captain, looked at Luffy with concern in his eyes. It was his first time seeing the always smiling and positive Luffy so down. His thin figure made him look more fragile than usual, and his blue eyes filled with sadness and pain is no longer clear.

The moment he stepped into the marine ship and was out of view from the Thousand Sunny, tears began to fall. He fell down to his knees and cried, he cried with all his pain and longing.

After tonight, he will cry no more. He will leave this world with a smile and the promise he made with his nakamas.

After tonight, he will no longer be the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates.

* * *

Smoker stood at the harbour with almost all of the marines; today they have one mission and one only. It will probably be one of the greatest missions they will have in their entire life.

Stopping the Straw Hat Pirates from entering Logue Town.

Why, you might ask, well, the answer is obvious. Today is the execution of history's youngest Pirate King - Monkey. D. Luffy. And everyone knew the fact that he is the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates.

It is not state secret that at the super young age of 21, Monkey. D. Luffy became the Pirate King, with fortunes even greater than that of his predecessor Gol. D. Roger. He saved many lives and helped many in need. One could say that he's a good pirate, and many would object to the idea of executing him. He's a great friend to many and had numbers of admirers across the world, and even the beautiful snake princess of the Shichibukai bowed to him.

He wasn't captured by any, well; no one could ever capture him to be precise. He walked into Marine Ford on his own two feet; his only condition was for his nakamas to be free, never having to worry about escaping from the world government, never having to worry about being captured.

Of course he knew he shouldn't trust the world government, but he knew at least his grandfather Garp and most of the people on the Grand Line will make sure they keep their promise to him. Or maybe Smoker will too. So he's willing to put his whole life on this bet.

That is his only wish, his head in exchange for eight. It may not be a great deal, but he is satisfied, as long as his nakamas will be safe, he is happy.

"Captain Smoker," Tashigi came up to Smoker and said, "Why not let them pass? They are Luffy-san's crewmates; they should have the right to see him one last time."

"Tashigi." Smoker said with a long sip on his cigar, "this is his wish. He doesn't want them to see him die in front of their eyes. He knew very well that they will try to interfere with the execution. That boy knew what he's doing, so let's just try our best and fulfil his last wish. It's for everyone's good."

The black-haired swordswoman signed and locked her gaze onto the endless blue ocean. "Why does he have to die? Luffy-san never did anything bad, just because he did all those things under the name of a pirate, he has to die? That's so not fair. "

"Life is not fair. It never was and never will be."

* * *

The Thousand Sunny went at full speed ahead; Franki even added extra cola to the engines to make it go even faster. Everyone stood on the deck with their full fighting gear on, today they have one goal.

They will break into Logue Town and save their captain, they will bring him back whole and alive, and they will carry on their adventure once again.

Sanji stood their, cigarette in hand, his eyes fierce instead of the usual love hearts.

That stupid sack of rubber, disappearing on them like that and dying without their permission. When he gets back, he will grill him then fry him then bake him in the oven with 1000 degrees, and then he'll chop him up to make him remember. But then he'll give him a big hug, to thank him for being his nakama, for helping him realise his dream once again, for finding the All Blue with him, for giving him hope when he had lose them all.

Zoro gripped his swords hard, too hard that his knuckles went all white. There's an aura of danger all around him. Everyone could see that he's angry, in fact so angry that he wants to chop everything up.

That goddamn guy, how could he leave them behind like that? He still hasn't told him how grateful he is that he saved his life back than. That boy allowed him to live and follow his dream. Now he had become the greatest swordsman, he has to thank him for giving him this opportunity. He has to say thank you.

The wind is so soft and the sea is so calm, there's not a single piece of cloud to be seen in sight. It was a strange sort of calmness, as if it's the calm before a storm.

Nami slapped her face hard to stop the unpleasant thoughts. Luffy is a strong man, probably the strongest man she's ever seen. He will not die so easily, not before she can thank him for everything he did for her. He didn't leave her behind when she betrayed them, instead he beat up Arlong for her and set her free, and she still has to thank him for that.

It's true that she's a thief and she does everything for herself, all the other people are just her tools to reach her goal. And now her world map is finished, she should have nothing to do with the Straw Hat anymore. But what good is a world map if she has no one to share it with? What's good about travelling alone with no one to share your joy and sorrow?

The black-haired assassin stood, the book she's always reading closed and sat silently on the stairs.

Her hands are balled into fists; the boy that allowed her to live must live too. She need to thank him still for helping her find the real poneglyph, for giving her hope and joy in life.

Pulling the goggles over his eyes, Usopp sat cross-legged; he's creating a new weapon. A gun that could destroy hundreds with one blow. They would be expecting thousand or even millions of marines there at Logue Town. Rescuing the Pirate King won't be easy; they will need all the firearms they could get.

Luffy saved his village, he saved him, and he's always been the person who saves people. So now it's his turn to save him. Then he will tell him thank you, for everything he did for him, for saving his life countless times, for making him the great warrior of the sea.

Chopper checked through his medical supplies again and again, making sure he has everything that they might need. It will be impossible to come back unscratched, and even more impossible to find an unscratched Luffy.

Over the last two days since the announcement of Luffy's execution, he had made numerous amounts of different medicines, whether they are for emergency uses or anything else. He had made sure that everyone has a full supply of the first aid kit and taught each of them how to use it. This mission has to be a success, failure is not allowed. If they fail, it won't be just a simple fail, it will be something they can't even regret against.

It was Luffy who first said to him that he is their nakama. It was Luffy who first said that it's alright to be a monster. It was Luffy who showed him the good side of human nature. It was Luffy who took him out to sea to achieve his dream. It was Luffy who opened up his frozen heart. So now it's his turn to return the favour, he will save him, no matter what. And then they will set sail to explore the world again.

Frankie took out two gallons of cola and stored them in his backpack. It won't be enough, but it will have to work out somehow. He will save the boy before his cola runs out; he will create a miracle if the situation becomes desperate.

Nami had told him he should act as backup, with his cola power, he should keep their escape path open. He will do that, because he wants the rescue to be a success, and it has to be. There is no other way.

The boy allowed him to build his dream ship and sail the great seas. He had given him great nakamas and great memories; he has to at least save his life to repay him. Although deep in his heart he knew this mission may not work out, but he will create the miracle, he is a man of creation after all.

Brooke sat there silently cleaning his sword. He's not as strong as Zoro with the sword, but still strong enough to be able to protect the people he cares about. He hadn't thanked the captain for fulfilling his dream yet. If it wasn't for him, he probably never will have the chance to see Laboon again. If it wasn't for Luffy, he might still be wondering around on the Grand Line with no one by his side, with no one to listen to his music but the night winds. He has to tell him face to face, the thank you he never managed to say out loud.

The wind picked up, the Thousand Sunny sailed forward, carrying each and every member's determination and their goal of a life time – To save their captain.

The mission allows no failure, and they must not fear. Because even one mistake could cost them everything; everything they once held dear.

* * *

On the seas of Logue Town, the Straw Hat dropped anchor, they walked to the front gate. They didn't expect the harbour to be empty of marinas, but they didn't expect there to be so many either. Neither did they expect Strong fist Garp to be there, he is Luffy's grandfather after all, how could he be standing here stopping them from rescuing his own grandson? It doesn't make any sense.

Smoker was the one that confronted them at the harbour. "This is where you stop Straw Hats. I won't allow you to go any further."

"Do you really think you could stop us?" Zoro asked, his three swords already in action.

"Of course, it's my job after all." Was the reply they got.

"I won't let you pass either." Hancock stepped forward, her beautiful face serious and sad.

"Hancock-san. WHY!" Nami asked or rather screamed at her. "You loved him! Why are you stopping us and not the execution!"

The snake princess didn't answer; she just turned away, her white snake curled around her arms.

"Nueve Fleur: Twist "Robin crossed her arms and marines fell under her feet, strangled to death. The vow of the Straw Hat crew is to never kill, but if they are going to kill their captain, they will not be soft.

"Let us pass." Sanji demanded the marines and got a solid NO for a reply.

"Then I guess we just have to force our way through." Robin crossed her arms, ready to attack. But a ball of flames appeared before her and a familiar figure submerged from the flames.

"Ace!" Almost all the people who knew him exclaimed in surprise. "Why are you here?"

The named man grinned and placed one of his hands on his hat. "To save my troublesome little brother of course."

"Ace." Garp looked at him and just stared.

"Fire Fist." Smoker glared at him, his arm in smoke. "Don't interfere. "

"No." Ace turned to him, his clutched fist roaring into flames. "YOU don't interfere, Captain Smoker."

Then the fight began, exactly how it began no one remember, there was a lot of bloodbath and screams and metals clicking against each other. Broken swords and dead bodies piled the harbour, but as hard as they tried, they wasn't able to move forward even one inch.

"MOVE!" Zoro roared at Tashigi, not holding back at all.

"No, Roronoa Zoro. I won't move aside, this is my mission." Tashigi fought back, trying her best to hold the berserk man down.

She made a promise, and she's going to keep it.

"MOVE! NOW!" Zoro demanded.

"I won't, I made a promise with Luffy-san, and I'm going to keep it."

Killing intent crept into Zoro's emerald coloured eyes, he crossed his swords. "Oni-giri!"

"Nemuri Uta Flanc (Lullaby Parry). Have a nice sleep marine and never wake up." Gently touching the strings of his violin with his sword, Brook played the musical notes of a lullaby. Around him marines fell into deep slumber, never waking up again.

Fire and smoke twirled and turned around each other in the air. It's hard to see who is winning and who is losing, but both are trying their best at holding the other person down.

"Captain Smoker, let me pass." Ace asked politely and of course the reply he got is. "No way in hell."

"Hiken!" With no way to negotiate his way past, Ace balled his hand into a fist and shot a fireball at Smoker. With a swing of a hand, Smoker counterattacked with his White Blow. In one instant, smoke and fire intertwined and burnt in the air, then disappeared.

Further away in the distance, waves of screams echoed in everyone's ears, the dense black clouds loomed over the entire area with around one meter radius. Thunder bolts stroked here and there, and another wave of screams and moans echoed in the air. This time Nami's out to kill.

Anyone that stands in their way will die.

In the other direction, balls of flames and smoke rose from the ground, marines rolled on the ground clutching their eyes, screaming in agony. "Haha, that's right, taste my Super Pepper Star, Usopp first star!"

"Strong Left!" Working with him is Franki with his cola powers; he can't do anything right now with this amount of marines. But his aim didn't change, utter annihilation.

Chopper jumped from here to there, sometimes some and sometimes big. With his transformations he confused the enemy and easily took them out with his sleeping powder.

Sanji back flipped onto his hands dodging a stray bullet, using his arms as a pivot he spun around landing a kick on Garp. And Garp of course blocked the kick with one of his famous punches. With one punch he reversed the impact of Sanji kick onto the attacker himself, sending him flying into the distance.

The amount of power made Sanji shook uncontrollably; he thought he was strong, but maybe not strong enough if one punch would make him wobbly.

"Sanji-kun, are you all right?" A pair of hands grabbed hold of his unsteady body, and a familiar voice rang.

Sanji turned around in surprise; he never expected them to be here. "Vivi-chan? Why are you here?"

Vivi just smiled. "The same reason as all of you. Luffy san saved my country, he saved my country. Now it's my turn to return the favour. We are nakamas after all."

Sanji's eyes watered, yes, they are nakamas. That time in Alabasta when they thought Luffy was dead, the pain they felt in their chests upon hearing the news was agonising, but that time they knew he won't just die like that, so they believed that he will come back to them. That's why they could move forward.

But this time it's different, they knew full well that Luffy's will to live is ceasing, so if he's really dead, the pain of losing him will probably kill them.

"Vivi-chan, take Pell and go to the execution stand, please save him for us, you are the only one who could do it now." Sanji asked, no, he almost sounded like he was pleading for her to go.

Vivi's heart ached at the mere sight of their sullen faces. She jumped onto Pell's back and was immediately on her way to the town centre.

Please Vivi, please save him. Save our captain for us. You may be the only one that has even the slightest chance of getting there on time.

The crew pleaded, prayed silently for the princess to be successful.

* * *

"I can see him now, Pell, can you go down there?" Vivi pointed to a tall structure in the middle of the town square.

"Yes, Vivi-sama." Pell pulled his wings in a little and made a dash for the execution stand. As they approached, bullets and spears started firing at them. Pell tried his best to avoid them, but they couldn't get any closer than a few meters.

A pink haired teen boy was standing on the execution stand alongside Luffy with marines on all sides, cuffs embedded with sea stone was chained to both Luffy's arms and legs, making escape impossible.

"Luffy-san!" Vivi shouted from the air and saw Luffy looking up in surprise. He said something to the pink haired boy and the marines guarding them left them alone. Without the marines firing at them, Pell landed on the stairs.

Upon seeing Vivi's arrival Luffy grinned his trademark grin. "Hey Vivi, why are you here?"

Clutching her hands, Vivi walked towards him. "Luffy-kun, Nami-san and Toni-kun and the others are all here for you, even Ace-kun. They are all here to save you, and I'm here too. So let's escape."

Luffy was silent for a moment, then he just simply shrugged. "I don't want to. Tell them to go away; I don't want to see them ever again. I hate them."

_SLAP!_

Vivi slapped him hard, like that time in Alabasta. She's angry, very angry. The crew was here for him, they are abandoning their own lives so that they could save him, now here he is saying he doesn't want to see them.

"Luffy-kun, how can you say this? They are your nakamas and they are out there fighting, trying their best to save you. How can you just shrug and say you hate them? I never knew you were so heartless!" Vivi shouted at him.

"I never asked them to save me! Tell them to go back, NOW!" Luffy was shouting too, his black eyes watering but he was still shouting.

It's for the best; he can't let his precious nakamas watch him die. It will shatter them. They will blame themselves for not being strong enough to save him. If they didn't see him die, they will still live on, even without him; they can find a replacement captain. Usopp will be pleased to finally take the place of Captain from him.

Vivi stared at him in silence, and said so very quietly. "If you really hate them, why are you crying?"

That's when Luffy noticed the tears streaming down on his face. He didn't even realise he was crying. He thought he was strong enough to hold his emotions to himself. He thought he could let go of them. But he was wrong.

Luffy turned around not facing Vivi at all, he said silently. "Go back, I won't leave, and that's that. Final."

"Luffy-kun…" In a last attempt to persuade him, Vivi called his name.

"LEAVE!" Luffy shouted at her.

Biting down on her lips, Vivi jumped onto Pell's back and left. Tears streamed down her cheeks and clouded her vision. But there's one thing she was sure of, Luffy stilled cared for his crew, more than anyone thought he did. He was a good captain, the best maybe, but he thought too little of himself. He thought he wasn't important in the crew, but in actual fact, he's probably the most important, the one that's hardest to replace.

As the last glimpse of Vivi and Pell disappears into the distance, Luffy said quietly to the pink haired boy still standing behind him. "Koby, it's time."

The named boy simply nodded, his expression sad, but his position doesn't allow him to cry for a pirate. He stepped back and two marines holding long spears stepped up onto the execution stand.

Luffy took a deep breath and smiled. He shouted to the crowd beneath. "25 years ago Gol. D Roger was here, his last words started the Great Age of Pirates. He was my hero, so I also set out to sea in search for his treasure. On the way to the end I met lots of people, people I would call friends and people I called my nakamas. They are all a precious part of my life, without them, the journey would be pointless; and I want to thank all of them for being a part of my life, for being in my life; without them, I wouldn't be able to come this far. In four years time I've reached the end of the Grand Line and now here I am, in the same position Gol. D Roger once was. Now it's my turn to tell you about my treasures, it's true they are on the Grand Line, but what and where the treasures are is all up to you. If you have decided to travel the Grand Line, I promise you all that the journey is not one you would come to regret in the future, for I, if I ever get a chance to relive my life again, I would again chose to travel with my nakamas around the world, do the things I did and meet the people I met."

The speech was heard throughout Logue Town; everyone was silent in that few moments of Luffy's speech, deep in thought. And the next moment, twin spears pierced Luffy's heart.

A gust of wind blew across, his straw hat was carried off into the sky and rain began to pour. As if it was sad for Luffy's death too. It washed away the blood spilled on the execution stand; it washed away all his tears.

A cannon was fired. The fighting at the harbour stopped. In the end they never made it. They didn't even get to see Luffy one last time. The only thing they got was his thank you.

But Luffy left with content in his heart; he left full of love. He lived his life to its fullest and experienced everything anyone could ever dream of. He had great friends and wonderful nakamas. He has nothing to regret.

In the end Vivi never got the truth out of Luffy, and neither did the crew. But maybe one day they will know, they might not appreciate his effort, but at least they won't keep on regretting their lose.

But there will always be an empty space on the Thousand Sunny and in there hearts. There will always be this one thing they will never let go.

How could they be called history's greatest pirates if they can't even save the life of the person they love the most? How could they sail with freedom when they can't even save their captain's life?

It will be a reason for the crew members to keep on living, because now they are not only living their own lives, they are living Luffy's as well. So they have to try twice as hard to be happy, because they don't ever want to see Luffy cry again.

-**End**-

* * *

**A/N: Ok now, it's finally complete and I have a little challenge for you. Have a guess who said the following, excluding Luffy, it's an extract from the story, if you get them all right, you'll get a piece of my super visual cake especially baked for you with Sanji's ultimate recipe! **

① "Zoro, your swords are hitting me!"

②"..."

③"I'm feeling SUPER!"

④ "Oh no, my antlers got caught!"

⑤"Yohoho, this is so fun!"

⑥ "Be careful, or no dinner tonight."

⑦"Th…this is dangerous."

⑧"Hm...Navigator-san, we just passed our town."

**See you next time!**


End file.
